'Jews Were in Israel Way Before Brits in Britain'

Economics Minister and Jewish Home Chairman Naftali Bennett recently appeared on the BBC, where he argued the two-state solution has failed, and that Israel needs to reaffirm its Jewish nature.

After noting that in joining the coalition he agreed to let the peace talks happen and even reach a national referendum if an agreement was to materialize, Bennett stressed that his opposition to dividing the country lies in the historical ties of the Jewish people to the land of Israel.

"We've been in this land way longer than Americans have been in American land and the British have been in British land," remarked Bennett.

Bennett argued that the two-state solution being discussed is a mistaken approach, which has been proven as a failure following Israeli land withdrawals from Lebanon, Judea and Samaria, as well as Gaza.

"Three times already we handed land over to the Arabs and within days they started shooting at us missiles. It's not working apparently," emphasized the Economics Minister.

Bennett added that not only has the approach failed, but that the Palestinian Authority (PA) refuses to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. He stressed that any land divide would create a Palestinian state and a Palestinian-Jewish bi-national state, which the PA would then be able to fight for.

In providing alternatives, Bennett noted the possibility of bringing in Jordanian involvement to try and shift up the framework of negotiations that have failed until now.

The Economics Minister added that he has been using his position to build business between Israelis and PA Arabs in Judea and Samaria, claiming that such a move can "build peace from the ground up" rather than rely on the diplomats to reach an agreement.